King’s Knight was made by Square in 1986 and released in North America in 1989. The game has been rereleased several times over the years, and is a very strange game. It is a vertical scrolling shooter, and it kind of acts like an RPG at times.
This is a very strange game. It is one that I really want to like, but it is so cryptic and frustrating that it is really hard to enjoy. I do have some fond memories of it from high school, when I spent a few weekends trying to figure the game out.
When I first played King’s Knight back in the late 1990s, I was baffled by what I was supposed to be doing. I didn’t have access to the internet at the time, and I had no idea how to look things up. Now that I know how to play the game and what I’m being asked to do, I don’t think I like this game all that much.
TLDR: A game that I want to enjoy, but can’t.
Narrative
The game has a very simple “save the princess” story. It isn’t all that different from other games released in the late 1980s. What I do like about all this is how there are four characters that come together at the end of the game.
Gameplay
King’s Knight is a vertical scrolling shooter. Like other games in the genre, you’ll have a series of power ups to collect, but you’ll also need to collect four elements across the first four stages of the game.
There are five stages to this game, and a few bonus stages. You’ll get to see parts of each stage, because if you die on one stage, you’ll start on a different one with one of the other characters.
King’s Knight has four characters in it. They have different starting stages, which is a cool idea. Here are the characters:
- Rayjack the Knight
- Kaliva the Wizard
- Barus the Monster
- Toby the Thief
This is one of the better ideas in the game. They play the same, or similar enough not to make things odd. Once you’ve beaten each stage, you’ll move on to the final stage.
Just about everything can be destroyed in this game. Mountains, trees, and fences can all be shot. This is how you’ll find power ups, caves, and other secrets. It is a great idea that I wish other games would’ve replicated. You can also jump in the game, which is a nice way to get around some of the obstacles.
There is a life down item in the game. I have no idea why this is in the game, and I can’t figure out why developers would ever include something like this. It is one of the dumber decisions in the game.
The game’s manual is online, which is nice. I wish I had it when I first started playing the game, so I could’ve figured out how to play the game. This is the only mention of the four elements that you need to collect in the game (Link).
Overall, I like the gameplay. There are quite a few issues with the game, but there is something that I enjoy about it. There is a lot of trial and error involved if you’re not using a guide or haven’t looked up how to play the game. I kind of like fumbling through this as I try to find out what I need to do and where the items I need are located.
Visuals
For a game released in 1986, the game looks decent. There are a few times when the graphics get in the way of the gameplay. You’ll have some enemy projectiles that blend in with the background, which is never what you want to see in a game like this.
The graphics look cute and cartoonish. In some ways, this could be a cute’em up, but I’m not sure it is on par with something like Fantasy Zone. The power ups are easy to see and, in the case of the life down item, are easy to avoid.
The sprites aren’t anything to write home about. Enemies look okay, but they aren’t all that interesting. They have simple animations, and their movement is in a semi-random pattern. It is a weird game to describe.
Most of the projectiles move slowly, or slow enough for you to avoid. At times, they blend in with the background, or with the mountains, buildings, and trees. It makes the game a little frustrating, and I wish the developers had been about to make them stand out more.
The best way I can describe the graphics is that they’re either boring or basic. It isn’t anything that I would describe as good. I would like to see a remake of this game with more detailed graphics, as I believe it has potential and could have been improved.
6/10. This is a game that I really want to enjoy. I like the gameplay, the game’s concept, and the diverse characters. What I don’t like is the gameplay and how cryptic the game is.
Pros
- Fun Gameplay
- Four characters to play
- Decent Graphics
Cons
- Very Cryptic
- Hidden Projectiles
- Bullet Sponge Enemies
Conclusion
This is one of the games that I found while collecting retro games in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Like many of the other games I had collected at this time, I had no idea what it was. I’m pretty sure I saw the Square logo and assumed it would be great! This was at a time when I thought everything that the company made was amazing, which would change as the years went on.
King’s Knight is a strange shooter. I’m not even sure if that is an accurate description of what this game is, but this is the closest thing I can think of. It is a game that I find myself trying to enjoy every time I play it.
There is something to this game. I would say that it has some untapped potential. It feels like it could be a modern game where you have to play through four stages with each character before making it to the end. A remake of the game was released in the late 2010s, but it was a mobile-only game and was shut down, which is a shame.
There are other games that give me the same feelings. I’m sure that other people have games like this. This might be one of the games that would be fun to watch other people play, and maybe learn something new from their playthroughs.
If you liked this post, please check out my other posts about NES games, such as Jaws or Destiny of an Emperor.